SDCOE Professional Growth Day
October 23, 2014
School Library Advocacy
in the Age of Common Core
“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would
be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while
remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you
cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent
egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”
-C. S. Lewis
Five Ways to be a School Library
Advocate in the Age of CCSS
Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan
virginialoh@cs.com
Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan
• Education:
– University of Virginia
– SDSU-USD
• Teaching Experience:
– K-8 teacher in Charlottesville, La Mesa-Spring Valley, San Diego, Chula
Vista
– ELLs, SPED, urban, online
4-Book Contract
– Teacher Educator: SDSU, USD, UPitt, NU, AU
with Cherry
• Research Fellow: IFL at UPitt
Lake!
• Publishing Experience:
– The Jade Dragon (Candlewick Press, 2008)
– 35 Strategies for Guiding Readers Through Informational Texts
(Guilford Press, 2010)
– Paper Son (Sleeping Bear Press, 2013)
I am a Library Advocate!
I financially support libraries!
I’m an author!
I was a Library Board of Trustee.
I’m a card-carrying member!
So what?
There are many ways to
advocate for libraries and for
librarians!
But, what does it mean to be a library
advocate today?
We need to be
warriors because
there is a problem!
Let’s compare effects:
In the U.S., how many people are
affected by good libraries?
“The link between strong school library programs and
student achievement is well documented. Over the
past 20 years, numerous studies have shown that
elementary schools with at least one full-time certified
teacher-librarian performed better on state tests.
In a 2010 study conducted in Colorado, more children
scored "proficient" or "advanced" in reading in schools
with a full-time, credentialed librarian than those
without.”
VERSUS
In the U.S., how many people are
affected by ebola?
Messaging Problem:
100% of people in U.S. think they have
ebola but…
Get the word out!!!
“The problem is that
people don’t know
precisely what librarians do
these days.”
P.S.
Major Problem: Relevancy
Yes, we are relevant! Libraries
are more than just shelves of
books!
Solutions: Relevancy
• Create a communication strategy: Let your
school community stakeholders know ALL that
your library has to offer.
– Community Center
– Programs and Services
• Offer something – Fight for your job!
– Increase visibility
– Increase programs and services
– Become invaluable
"The common standards are the best
opportunity we've had to take an
instructional-leadership role in the
schools and really to support every
classroom teacher substantively.”
-Barbara Stripling,
former President of ALA
Opportunities
• Opportunity to move from position of support
to leadership.
• Opportunity to use assets: Knowledge of
books, digital resources, and research.
• Opportunity to be an expert.
• Opportunity to be popular.
• Opportunity to increase your resources.
From Grocery Store to Kitchen:
• “…we need to stop thinking of the library as a grocery store—a place
to ‘get stuff’—and start thinking of it as a kitchen—a place to ‘make
stuff’….”
• “The library’s resources have changed, but not its mission: teaching
people to effectively access information to meet their needs.”
• “A well-designed and widely used library is a physical indicator that a
school embraces certain values regarding information: that multiple
points of view have value; that teaching kids how to think, not just
memorize, is crucial; and that self-exploration should be
encouraged.”
Source: Johnson, D. (2013, October). “The new school library.” Educational Leadership.
Five Ways to be a School Library
Advocate in the Age of CCSS
#1: Be a communications strategist.
CCSS is everywhere!
•Teachers are clicking on
anything “CCSS.”
•Everyone is jumping on
the bandwagon.
• Provide teachers with a
regularly updated list of
programs and services.
• Create monthly
newsletters/blogs with
CCSS connections.
• Send media releases.
• Use social media.
#CommonCoreAtYourLibrary
#2: Be an invaluable support for
teachers.
CCSS requires teachers:
• to use more
informational/nonfiction
texts
• to use complex texts
• to push students to
support their thinking
with evidence.
• Develop text sets.
• Create CCSS displays
using texts.
• Create annotated
bibliographies.
• Host PD workshops.
• Curate PD resources.
• Provide media and visual
literacy lessons.
• Provide units, resources,
book lists, etc.
Great resource
for high-quality
nonfiction
books!
#3: Be an invaluable support for
students.
CCSS requires students to:
• read widely and deeply
• read complex texts
• research and cite
evidence.
• review sources
• demonstrate mastery
via performance-based
assessments
• Create book talks via
webtools.
• Host study hall sessions.
• Create student-friendly
research guides.
• Host author visits.
• Provide materials and
tools for assignments.
– Create communication
pathways with teachers.
#4: Be a networked expert.
CCSS requires us to be
knowledgeable about:
• Text complexity
• Texts
• Performance-Based
Assessments
• Research
• CCSS Resources
• Best Practices
• Attend conferences and
workshops (like SDCOE
PGD) – learn, network,
and then SHARE
resources!
• Join professional orgs
like ALA.
• Know people who
know.
“[Librarians have to]
have the flexibility to
work with the rest of the
staff, to share research
and best practices…A lot
of the librarian’s practice
ends up in the
classroom. You might
think that the success of
a class is all to do with
the teacher, but a lot of
support comes from the
media center.”
-Mike Swank,
principal of Avon High School (IN)
#5: Be a grassroots community
builder.
CCSS requires us to help
students become college
and career ready
• Provide resources and
services to parents and
community members.
– Host focus groups.
• Build a professional
community of learning.
• Become a community
center.
Bottom Line:
Make sure everyone
knows that you are
RELEVANT!
Come find out why
historical fiction is
SEXY!!!
Analysis of Historical
Fiction:
Close Reading
Strategies
Session 1:00-1:45
Session 1:50-2:35
Books - Yellow Book Road
Any questions?
virginialoh@cs.com